Fire crews will keep working overnight to cool down the structure, Mr Gallet said.

The deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, said the cathedral had suffered ‘colossal damages’, and the emergency services were trying to salvage the art and other priceless pieces stored in the cathedral.

A cathedral spokesman said the entire wooden interior was burning and likely to be destroyed.

However the two towers could be ‘considered saved’.

Officials said the fire may be linked to renovation work at one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions, French media reported.

Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into the blaze as the fire was still burning out of control.

Hundreds of people on bridges around Notre Dame in Paris, watched in shock as fire engulfed the famed cathedral.

Photos and videos on social media show the roof of the 850-year-old Gothic building covered in flames, issuing a plume of smoke above the city.

The Paris fire brigade can be seen in videos dousing the blaze with water.

The Paris fire brigade can be seen in videos dousing the blaze with water (Picture: Reuters)

A cathedral spokesman said the entire wooden interior was burning and likely to be destroyed (Picture: AP)

A church spokesman said all of the cathedral’s frame was burning after the spire collapsed.

The emergency services were trying to salvage the priceless artwork stored in the cathedral.

US President Donald Trump suggested on Twitter that the fire was put out with ‘flying water tankers’. ‘So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,’ he wrote.

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‘Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!’

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo described it as a ‘terrible fire’ and urged people at the scene to stay safe.

French President Emmanuel Macron postponed a televised speech to the nation because of the stunning blaze and was going to the cathedral himself.

He tweeted: ‘Our Lady of Paris in flames. Emotion of a whole nation. Thought for all Catholics and for all French. Like all our countrymen, I’m sad tonight to see this part of us burn.’

A church spokesman said all of the cathedral’s frame was burning after the spire collapsed (Picture: Getty)

Labour MP Yvette Cooper said: ‘Have just come away from the bank of the Seine after the spire fell as I can’t bear to watch any more. Fearful for anyone close to the flames, and aghast that centuries of history & beauty could disappear into smoke so fast.’

Ashley Huntington, 21, an American university student studying in Paris, said: ‘Our class ran what was supposed to be 30 minutes walking but we probably got here in 20 running.